die Friedenspfeife rauchen
to smoke the peace pipe; to reconcile after a dispute
Origin
The phrase derives from the ceremonial pipe (French 'calumet') of North American Indigenous peoples, smoked when concluding peace. White settlers coined the term 'peace pipe'; the image became popular in Germany partly through Karl May.
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- Modal verb 'dürfen' (to be allowed to)Modalverb 'dürfen'
- Simple past 'durfte' (was allowed to, from dürfen)Präteritum 'durfte' (dürfen)
- Indefinite pronoun 'man' (one/you in general)Indefinitpronomen 'man'
- Temporal clause with 'seit(dem)' (since a starting point)Temporalsatz mit 'seit(dem)'
Examples
Komm, lass uns die Friedenspfeife und nicht länger .
Come on, let's smoke the peace pipe and stop arguing.